On the trail of a gigantic Nazi raid | DW Documentary
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2023
- The systematic looting of art owned by Jewish families has never been fully investigated. Descendants of families forced to leave Nazi Germany are still searching for their property - often in vain.
The documentary follows the trail of one large-scale Nazi looting operation. Provenance researcher Kathrin Kleibl and her colleagues are investigating the crime, and hope to bring about justice one day. It’s her job to ascertain the whereabouts of looted art and return it to its rightful owners.
Jewish families ordered to leave Germany were assured they could take their property with them. But often, all their worldly goods remained behind. Thousands of crates stored at locations like the port of Hamburg were seized by the Gestapo. Instead of sending the objects on to their owners, they were auctioned. The contents of entire households went under the hammer at the "Hamburg Bailiff’s Office" and in many other auction houses; the lots included valuable artworks.
The auctions were blatantly advertised in newspapers. In Hamburg, they raised 7.2 million Reichsmark for the Nazis. A state-sponsored bargain hunt, says historian Frank Bajohr. The objects disappeared into the hands of private individuals, museums and dealers. In most cases, they have never been seen again.
Who were the owners and who were the buyers? Kathrin Kleibl explains her mission: "The primary goal is to give these objects back to the families." In a research project funded by the German Lost Art Foundation, Keibl is hot on the trail. She has one key advantage, in the search: the Nazis kept meticulous records of their crimes. Kathrin Keibl has access to thousands of pages of auction reports, store ledgers and invoices. It’s an arduous task, but: "Using these puzzle pieces, we can trace the path of a theft from its original location to its eventual sale in Hamburg, " says Kleibl.
The descendants of these Jewish families can now hold out some hope of recovering their property. The Koch family from Wiesbaden, for example, was forced to emigrate to London. But their crates, which contained priceless art collections including works by Nolde, Jawlensky and Klee, never arrived. What happened to their grandparents’ property? There’s a specific lead on one painting, but several changes of ownership and an art market that still remains largely secretive are hampering the search. As one member of the Koch family says: "If our generation stops searching, then this chapter will remain forever lost in darkness.”
The valuable art collection of Johanna Ploschitzki from Berlin was also lost. Her belongings, which totaled 1,500 objects and included pieces by renowned artists such as Pissarro, Beckmann and Liebermann, was auctioned off over the course of three days in Hamburg. To this day, her descendants are hoping to recover at least some of the items.
This chapter of German history is also posing a challenge to Dr. Ute Haug, provenance researcher at the Hamburger Kunsthalle art museum: In the year 1941, her museum bought eight paintings at an auction. But can these artworks be correctly assigned to the families they were stolen from? To find out, Ute Haug is also seeking help from Kathrin Kleibl.
#documentary #dwdocumentary
______
DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch top documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events. Subscribe and explore the world around you with DW Documentary.
Subscribe to:
⮞ DW Documentary (English): / dwdocumentary
⮞ DW Documental (Spanish): / dwdocumental
⮞ DW Documentary وثائقية دي دبليو (Arabic): / dwdocarabia
⮞ DW Doku (German): / dwdoku
⮞ DW Documentary हिन्दी (Hindi): / dwdochindi
For more visit: www.dw.com/en/tv/docfilm/s-3610
Follow DW Documentary on Instagram: / dwdocumentary
Follow DW Documental on Facebook: / dwdocumental
We kindly ask viewers to read and stick to the DW netiquette policy on our channel: p.dw.com/p/MF1G
DW produces the most interesting documentaries. They never disappoint. This documentary is no exception. Thank you so much for it and for all your hard work.
Thanks for watching and for the positive feedback! We’re glad you like our content.
@@DWDocumentary 👍🏻
Huuuge undertaking. Even establishing the provenance or the whereabouts of 1 small item, say a vase is an epic journey....
Always following DW DOCUMENTARIES FROM KENYA 🇰🇪.
Thanks for watching! Kuddos.
I love DW’s documentaries. You guys are great! Thank you❤
Thanks a lot for watching and for your positive feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to comment and are glad you like our content!
I love them too
@@DWDocumentary DW - Fascist Germany bad, Fascist Israel good!
@@DWDocumentaryyou gave me false hope of a progressive germany
Art Collection has its shady side...significant research on history and cultural injustices has a remarkable way towards startling exposes. As for Fencing and Concealment agencies & their strong connection to these injustices will one day stand in the light of truth and ⚖️
A well done documentary.
Id bet up to 50% of objects stolen and sold at auction have been broken, damaged, or ruined and thrown out. Blankets, clothes, ceramics, glassware, wooden or metal objects,
gramophones, etc dont last 80 years.
When you think they were bought for a discount and used with no emotional attachment, these objects would have simply been discarded when they were no longer useful. Fabrics ripped, glassware and ceramics broken.
Obviously art was most likely cared for as a valuable collectible. Families would preserve and pass down art from generation to generation. Hopefully that stuff will be found. It seems very difficult however.
Excellent documentary, however I must caution in reference to the possibly/likely originally looted provenance of the Buddha Head from a S E Asian temple. Quite common at the time... less so, yet still going on today and of course being possibly/likely unknown to the buyer/owner at that time. Then what ?
Wonderful documentary. Thank you for covering this.
Thanks for watching and for the feedback!
we should talk about how these families acquired these works to begin with, and why it means so much for them to get them back, but many countries in the southern hemisphere have been waiting for moons longer with even less investigating
Not only southern hemisphere. Many priceless collections have been stolen from Poland and never given back after World War II. We were robbed out of full art collections, priceless objects from Polish dynasties of kings etc. Till today there are symbolic empty frames in the museums in Warsaw, awaiting for the paintings. Don't think it's just "South". It's not. Germans robbed half of Europe too.
The Nolde painting was contemporary art and could easily have been bought by the family. But the Buddha's head? From the mid 19th century Asian temples were looted for statues ... the Angkor Wat in Cambodia just as one example was looted by the French. As late as the 1930ies the French author and then Minister of Art André Malroux was fined - and jailed? - for stealing heads cut off statues. This documentary reaches further than what is descibed!
They were from rich families!
Not just Art but Everything!
@@balikristhank you for saying this. The Buddha belongs somewhere back in Asia. I hope it gets returned to THE proper owners.
Wonderful work, if only people can work this hard to return african arts displayed in some museums in Belgium, France & the UK ? Just thinking!!!!
"Thinking"? lol!
I don't think you're equipped for that.
🤡🤡🤡
There are people who are working on that ... but since DW stands for "Deutsche Welle" or German World, one might expect a DW documentary to focus on German issues.
The scale of these thefts is why it's taken so long to investigate and address them. It's good to see these crimes don't have a statute of limitations. 😐
Wrong.
It wasn't considered immoral by the majority of the world for most of the complacency.
You live in a system designed to benefit a few at the expense of others. If you grew up in a developed, western country then you(we) are taught not to notice or to care.
We have spent generations teaching our kids to ignore their unfair advantage, why would it be any benefit to point out there is an unfair system in place in the first place.
Your government is doing the same thing to you right now. All of our governments are.
@@obtuseangler768No offense intended, but I'm viewing your bitter and cynical comments as those made by someone who proposes to feed and house the needy by burning stolen Artworks.
Have an enjoyable week. 😐
@@dukeofthedance8062you know Germans are not Brits… right?
More stolen treasures in London Museum.
Very interesting documentary.Documentaries regarding art always fascinates me.
Years ago I visited a display of Native American artifacts. One was a beautifully made deer skin leather beaded dress. As I examined it closely, to my sorrow I found many holes in the dress all edged with a rust color. Given the location of the holes and what was clearly dried blood, it was obvious the woman had been shot and died in that dress. I found the curator and asked her why that fact was not in the description. She became very nervous and kept trying to dodge my questions. She finally agreed the description would be updated. I went back the next day and dress was off the wall and curator nowhere to be found. I wrote several letters to newspapers and the museum from which it came. The letters were not published and I received no response from the museum. Just writing this is very painful.
Many items were sold in flohmarkt such as beautiful decorated furniture silver cutlery some of them are still in houses in Germany.
Loving these documentaries.
Thanks DW, for yet another superb documentary..
I wish similar honesty would happen in other countries..
While now contacting many (probably all) of - especially - the Danish local archives - a complete dismissal, sadly still appear.
When contacting some of these places, the answer is - quote:"If it's about something from the war, we are not allowed to talk about it" end quote.....(who is prohibiting this in Denmark I wonder?) this being about art, personal histories and belongings and, as long as such behaviour is allowed, nothing will ever come to light..which clearly are their purpose. Some of the people working in these local archives, even - honestly - tell you, they are not allowed to talk about certain things...especiall from WW2!?
I am especially interested in the History and belongings of certain of the Danish religious organisations but, within Denmsrk, I am met by a wall of 'cover up' I doubt will ever disappear...and, when I write "I" here, - having come across many others with the same purpose as I, I have no doubt, the Danish state will go to the extremes, in the attempt to hold in to all their stolen goods...they'll simply keep refusing tontalk...
Maybe one day...maybe...in some thousand years....zzz
Thanks again DW!!
PS. Many of the Danish items stolen during the war, could easily be found in Hamburg, Kiel, Berlin and not least in Dresden and Polish Warsaw and Gdansk as well as in Ukraine ...and yes, it's more than a life-long task to find it all - especially when people refuse to co-operate.
Thanks for watching and for your constructive feedback! :-)
@@DWDocumentary Thanks a lot DW...just occured to me, I forgot to mention Magdeburg in the above mentioned list of cities..Magdeburg which is very important, especially when it comes to personal memories and belongings of the victims, Jews and many other Europeans...as far as my research goes, Magdeburg was especially bad during the war....and, I haven't even mentioned the horrible Genocide in Warsaw and Ukraine (the Genocide, stopped by a German Vermachts Officer) and not least - to this day - the complete lack of responsibility and punishment for this horrific crime!? Somehow I doubt, any of the belongings of these poor victims, ever made it to any auction but, was simply stolen and, never accounted for by the horrific perpetrators. These people were never standing any trials - including the Nuremberg trials but, were instead helped out of Europe and, "re-located' in other continents to where, I assume they just brought all their stolen goods and, being fairly well off due to their horrific crimes, the goods are probably still in the hands of these families, who may never find any of the History behind and, who do not care at all and the victims, archives, museums etc, have lost forever...lost to the slave traders/Nazi's...
During my research, I have often wondered, how many generations back these families can be traced...just imagine, to wake up one morning and realise, your family is indeed one of the very worst on our planet...huh
Thanks sgain FW ☘️👍
great documentary! I strongly recommend Hector Feliciano's book on the Art Heist by the Germans during WWII
Please let us know what else was found out about this matter. Interesting documentary.
It was an excellent journal coverage.. documentary and humanitarian values and justice ⚖️ prospective disclosur by (DW) documentary channel... thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching and for the feedback!
People and institutions need to behave.
Don't be greedy or envious.
If its not yours, its not yours.
*it's
It is not necessarily targeted "stone-walling." I have tried to get information on a potentially important work of art from the well-noted auction house where we purchased it. They would tell us nothing about the consigners - no contact info or anything. All we had was the name of the estate in the catalogue - a common name. We had no way of tracing it.
This was in no way a political or racist decision. It is simply the way auction houses work.
Just Imagine what the world would be now if WWI and WWII didnt happen?!
Women's Rights in the US might have taken longer to happen if at all. Western Supremacy would still be rampant because no WW1 to put them in their place and crushed their spirit and belief in themselves. And plenty of Colonies would have had their independence much later because the WW made it more difficult for the West to maintain its colonies.
The lack of World war 1 and 2 would greatly benefit the West which at the time was very Colonialist. WW ended the Imperialist system
@@arnowisp6244 who imperalist in ww1 ww2 =?.
Most of asia and africa would have still been colonized by europeans
@@babosing yeah ww1 ww2 created against colonizers..
@arnowisp6244 Not just that, but think of all the missed scientific breakthroughs. We'd have no computers, far fewer medical breakthroughs, and we would never have gone into space.
It is interesting that it took 80 years... when many of victims are ling gone...
Seem to be the western "way"...wait until the victims are long dead and, then "we" might deal with it....the things "we" want to deal with...the rest "we" just don't, talk about as, then it probably disappear...and, not just regarding art but, regarding everything and everyone who "disappeared" ...or just was/were "disappeared"...
I wonder if the Buddha's Head was looted from an Asian Country before the family bought it in Paris?
DW You make thought provoking and informative documentaries ..Thank you from Ireland.☘
Thank you for watching! We're glad you like our content. Kudos. :)
Great video, DW.
Thanks for watching and for the feedback!
This seems like thieves trying to reclaim from other theives, unless I'm mistaken on the origins of that buddha head they highlighted and other peices in photos they showed, seems hypocritical restitution and recovery for one but not the other? Perhaps return it to aisa where it was originally stolen from or are they claiming as the germans did "we have no knowledge of this, was bought at legitimate auction" if cultural importance to owner no problem return but again don't see how buddha head was ever theirs probably stolen from a temple in Cambodia or Vietnam
great documentary
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
Excellent documentary. Greetings from Yorkshire.
thanj you
the inspiration of the likes of Sotheby's, Christie's and some museums.
It is shameful to say but I believe there could be some items from Jewish estate sales in my family's possession. My grandmothers aunt was a big Nazi sympathiser and it is said she bought items in those auctions and estate sales. She gifted my great-grandmother, her sister, a set of tableware and some silver cutlery for her wedding which bears engraved initials not corresponding to any of our family's names. The items are now in my grandmother's possession, never used and always in the cabinet, but I doubt the owners will ever find them again.
How far do you have to go into the past, before an object loses its connection to unfair acquisition
90 years is not nearly enough... multiply that by ten ... then fit it into infinity. Theft is forever wrong. There may come a point in which a return cannot be made ... but 90 years is not even at that point.
So if someone purchased that artwork in the '80s or '90s who is going to reimburse them when they give it back to the families?
Sue who sold it to them
don’t care, not my problem!
I understand fully the condition in which they were stolen. Howrver, some of these are priceless. Im suprised the owners would rather then be for the world to see.
Where are they going to put that head? On the table beside their couch?
I could never value material things to this extent… I would be grateful I was alive. I guess some people just love money.
I understand and believe the stolen and looted items were horrible & still are. I get bigger items may be located it's unfortunate that personal items such as ink wells, underclothes, pictures etc. Sometimes things cannot be replaced nor returned. If ur home burns down n ur things r gone they r gone. Living to get material items back is a horrible way to live when thank God these families made it through this horrific time. The ones who survived are a miracle alone. Material items can be replaced letting it take over generations it's worse then the crime. Big items I get it if they r still around but the rest idk let it go already cash them out already that's what it seems to be about
It's a pathetic pursuit. There was no "property" on this planet until humans arrived and started parceling every inch of this planet as they are entitled to it. All property is theft ultimately in one way or another. They should be grateful beyond belief that they escaped Germany in those horrible times instead of being concerned with their petty property. The whole humanity is engaged in this thirst for grabbing as much stuff for themselves, either you're talking about Nazis, Jews, Americans, Russians.All of them are in the same pot. Look no further than Palestine and how they systematically displace those families for the whole belief that that land is holly and that it belonged to their ancestors. It's the utter arrogance of the human species.
@@florinmoldovanu 🤡
So Mr burns didn't steal them?
No music, please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brutal and wrong in every way
Whatever items had taken by nazi's & activities @ those days, how priceness that was...!
i know this will be an unpopular view. These were the rich people that fled their country. While everyone else struggled, suffered, resisted, many murdered. Let them struggle to retrieve their heirlooms and property. They aren't victims, they are bystanders.
Imagine having a lot of people going through all that work to find and return a old piece of art for the heirs just to sell it off in auction for the money afterwards.😂
You wouldn't say that if it was your family inheritance.
@@michelledavies2197 that's more like my point. They go on about memories and justice, but they just want the money inheritance. Ain't nobody claiming the spoons, clothes, trunks, books, photographs, the memories spread on museums that are readily offered to the heirs. No. They just claim the pieces of art worth a fortune.
For who now do the objects have significance and value? It seems that the people who were robbed never got recognition or closure. The accounting is important now because the individual collectors, and most importantly the larger institutions must take stock of what they possess and how it came into their possession. Places like the British Museum for example. What compensation is there for the slave trade? What compensation is there for the peoples displaced from their lands, and even from their languages and cultures? And when the petrochemical companies, and the other global corporations, have finished tipping this species towards extinction, trampling the gentler traits of humanism and art along the way, who's going to shuffle up to the stern face of human history and mutter an apology? And what good would it do even if there were anyone left to do it?
Now for the Brits.
Awesome documentary!
The belongings of well of German Jews was well documented… sadly the belongings of millions more vanished as did their owners through the chimneys of the crematoriums as ashes.
The restitution of artifacts is important… it’s not about value nor money - it’s about attempting to right a single little wrong, in a vast “ocean of wrongs”.
It’s about restoring the little bit of trust humans have in humanity - a priceless achievement.
Whilst an interesting subject to look into, I feel like the lives of the people who managed to get out of the country before it was too late are far more valuable than the items they left behind, and now, almost 80 years after the end of the war and the thefts, looking to get back the items is not only way too late, but also logically contradictory.
Different case would be of art and artifacts that *should* belong in museums rather than private ownership.
For example with the budha head, not only would it be better left in a museum where it would be safe, but if we would look further into it, wouldn't the true ownership belong to the country of origin rather than the former Jewish owners?
Just like the Victorians that purchased ancient Egyptian relics, the budha head might have been obtained through dodgy relic sales decades before the nazi thefts.
It’s unfortunate that nobody is asking where the Buddha head came from and where it should rightfully be returned
Where is all the art looted from Germany? That is a topic DW dares not to touch.
she has a lot of work ahead.
I can t wait until she gets to do the same for Vietnam, Iraq and so on.
I m not sure it was that meticulate on the reccords there.
maybe she can guess...
good show team.
What about art stolen from Poland? Will it be returned? Why is it so difficult for Germans and German government to give back the stolen art and priceless objects during World War II from Poland?
How stupid leave it in the past its over
They were not the only ones. Especially none native people living in area's that where taken by the Japanese lost everything. For many not even what could fit in a handbag, nothing. Japan paid about 200€ in compensation including for camp life to Dutch living in Indosnesia. It is naive to think you can get it all back, it will only be an anchor for your life. Better to move on. Of course there are some exeptions for example valuable paintings if they are on public display on whatever date sinse. But then maybe the owners were fortuned to be rich while those who did not have the money to flee suffered much more. Not forgetting to mention all those losing all by bombing, millions by being arrested/forced into a German labor movement taken from there homes of which many did not came back or disabled phisically and mentally. Do not get me wrong it is good to do this however it was as well war and we all need to move on as well and not keep on begging and dwelling over the past.
They learnt from the British
Aah... the nihilistic age. 😁 In conjunction with book burning, should also look for a copy in the russian hut.
Lets gather and burn all this expensive junk and use that money to house and feed people.
If anyone is watching us from space i cant imagine what they are thinking
And where/how the familie purchased the stolen art object (The Buddah head )? (Which was already stolen from another culture before they bought it) Maybe they should also give it back to the original owners! Instead of cashing in.
Or is Buddha a typical item in the Jewish believe? I think the family itself is also not clean!
Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
Ckeck Swiss banks and Sweden
I think my relatives property was also stolen so while the people in charge are busy prrinting cash someone remind them to print me 1million also
Oh its nothing infront of what british did.
How about learning English when you can be bothered?
@@frontenac5083 like right now or in general?
Return the budda head to asia
Germany today is Weimar on steroids.
Sad! Reminds me of the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer aka Lady in Gold. The museum and the Austrian government didn't want to give it back. People should be ashamed of themselves!
Thieves stealing from thieves! And anybody could explain please why that Budha head is returned to thieves not Asia where it actually belongs??...
🤡🤡🤡
Fool.
These people need to get over it and stop looking for $$$! Who knows how they got it in the first place? Are we really attached to Material items that 60 years later we waste our resources trying to find them! I bet a lot of Billionaires have secret stashes of these items, maybe look there if your so incline to do so!!!😎😎😎
The proceeds should be given to the Palestinians!
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
2023((Gregorian)) “Respect and dignity.” Furthermore:
Return the budda head to asia
Return the budda head to asia